Any suggestions for how to prevent insects from entering through spaces in deck boards from below into a screened area?
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
The FHB Podcast crew takes a closer look at an interesting roof.
Featured Video
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
My screened porch has a tiled floor. You can also place screen under the deck boards, if you can get to them.
we always give our customers the choice... do you want us to put screening below the floor..... and catch all the dirt ?
or do you want to handle the few bugs that crawl up from between the boards ?
never had one yet that chose the screening Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I had the same thought when I built my own screen porch, then the bugs and spiders would find their way in and not their way out. even mosquitos got in. the spiders set up shop in every corner with good success
finally I crawled under and screened below the whole thing. problem solved.
my neighbor ran screen over the joists before decking. now he's constantly out there with a vacuum cleaner sucking the crap from between the deck boards.
We typically install screening over the joists, prior to decking
Does anyone use aluminum mesh screening vs. fiberglass mesh? Advantages and disadvantages of one over the other? Just curious what others think.
WHAT I'VE DONE IN THE PAST IF YOU ARE USING PRESSURE TREATED DECKING MATERIAL IS HAVE MY LUMBER PROVIDER SHIPLAP 5/4" x 6" MATERIAL AND IT SEEMS TO WORK VERY WELL , OR CHECK OUT SOME OF THE NEW T&G COMPOSITE MATERIAL
aluminium screen would fail against the treated lumber would eat through it within a year.
thats kind of what i was getting at. I know being under cover for the most part, the screen would most likely hold up for a bit. Hardly for long term though. We had a debate/discussion about that in our office the other day.
But Im with you, I think it will fail quickly. Especially in high moisture situations
Well I have put vinyl screen under a customers deck over the joists with some slack and it worked out well but the aluminium would react with the chemicals in PT and rot out quick. As far as water proofing under decks they sell several products but they cost too much so if a deck is less than 12' out from a home I have used soffit ....worked well and will cut down on the bugs but not eliminate.
I've had good luck screening w/ fiberglass underneath deck joists and putting pt lattice over it to somewhat hide the crud that falls between the decking. Another option would be to screen on bottom same as above and cover bottom with the new vinyl(?) snap on waterproofing stuff.......would also make underneath of deck dry, although I've never beeen a big fan of the "enclosed underneath deck/shed look"
Bing
Is there a vinyl product available that "snaps " over existing 2X6 treated flooring? Something that would cover the existing deck and stop the need for staining? Any ideas are GREATLY appreciated. Mike L.
Last year on 6 decks or so I built, the contractor had us put down vinyl decking. It's around an 1-1/2" thick and is tongue and groove. I blind screwed the product down in the groove.
It seems to be a really nice product, there was a little fading in the color but nothing terrible. And if I recall correctly it came in 24' lengths.
You buy it buy the lineal ft and they rough cut it to any size you want. I can't remember the manufacturer's name though. Try Googling T&G vinyl decking that might give you some leads.
EDIT: Also the manufacturer asks for a small slope built into the deck, can't remember the ratio per ft something like an 1/8" per ft away from the home or whatever it's attached to.
Edited 2/19/2007 6:12 am ET by Stilletto
Another method that hasn't been mentioned is building screen panels to fit up under the porch floor. I did this on my own home. The porch is around 12x15 so, if I remember correctly, I built 3 frames that were ~5'x12' with 2x2 frames. You have to be a little careful when building them so they fit kinda tight to be effective. I created a lip on 3 sides, kind of like ledger strips, to catch the end of each panel, and the 12' dimension on each end panel to make them easier to install. So the 2 end panels were slipped into place first, then the center panel. They are screwed in place with maybe 8 screws each panel, so they are removable for cleaning, although I have never removed them. I had a helper when I did the job. If you are really interested I could take a pic and post it.
Another idea is to cover the floor with indoor-outdoor carpet.
What I was thinking of was a product to be used on existing decks. "U" shaped material that would snap over the 2X6 deck boards already in place. It would cover them and limit future maint. work. Anyone seen it? Mike L.